In an attempt to limit the consumption of unhealthy food, especially among young people, the Dutch government is seeking to introduce new laws that will impose stricter restrictions on advertising and fast food restaurants near schools.
Restricting access to and availability of fast food in the Netherlands
In recent years, key Dutch cities and municipalities have asked the government to intervene when it came to the boom of the fast food industry in the Netherlands. In a letter to former Secretary of State for Health, Welfare and Sports Paul Blochus, representatives of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, Utrecht and Ede asked the Cabinet to introduce legislation that would allow municipalities to ban some fast food. institutions from the opportunity to open.
Blohuis ’successor, Martin van Oyen, seems to have heard the request, saying AD that something needs to be done to limit the number of fast food establishments in the Netherlands: “Now every seventh child is overweight … In the lower social classes it is even every third.”
Van Ooijen is considering various options – including stricter rules for advertising fast food, fast food restaurants near schools and selling sweets and junk food in schools – and hopes to present the plan to the House of Representatives (Tweed Chambers) later this year. “Of course, you can continue to eat french fries. But I want it to be a well-considered choice, not guided, because there are billboards on every corner that advertise harmful food, ”he explained.
CBS reports that half of the adult population is classified as overweight
The government is facing increasing pressure to fight obesity in the Netherlands as various health organizations call for a sugar tax or the government to reduce VAT on fruit and vegetables.
Earlier this month, the Statistical Office of the Netherlands (CBS) reported that, despite the National Prevention Agreement introduced by the government in 2018, the number of overweight adults has not decreased in the last three years.
The Dutch government has introduced a National Prevention Agreement in an attempt to encourage Dutch citizens to lead healthier lifestyles. Since 2018, various steps have been taken to reduce smoking and alcohol abuse – and have been relatively successful. However, the number of people with a BMI of at least 25 is still 50 percent of the adult population. The goal of the agreement is to reduce this figure to 38 percent by 2040.
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